Ulster Unionist Party

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a liberal political party in Northern Ireland, founded on 3 March 1905 as a breakaway faction of the UK Conservative Party. The UUP governed the province from 1921 to 1972, and it was traditionally a conservative party; under UUP leader Mike Nesbitt, the UUP moved towards progressivism and liberalism. In 2003, it was overtaken by the conservative Democratic Unionist Party and the socialist Sinn Fein party to become the third-largest party in Northern Ireland, and the party performed poorly in the 2017 parliamentary elections, losing 6 seats, leading to Nesbitt's resignation.